Patent application title: Diver's compression trifold backpack

Abstract:

A travel bag for organizing and compressing all the diving equipment
generally taken by divers on diving vacations. The bag is a belt and
shoulder strap supported trifold roll design made of a reinforced
synthetic fiber that has no central cavity but rather, three panels with
or without see through mesh to enclose pockets on the panels. The bag is
washable and has no corrodible components thereon. The main features of
the bag reside in it's ability for protective organization and protection
of the delicate contents as well as a design suited for rapid opening and
visual inspection for ease of access through security checkpoints. A
plethora of accessories exist to enhance the versatility of the bag.

Claims:

1. A frameless, non rigid, shoulder supported divers's trifold compression
backpack comprising:a first flexible, fabric storage panel;a second
flexible, fabric storage panel;a third flexible, fabric storage panel;a
first flexible fabric side panel;a second flexible fabric side panel;at
least two single strap compression means sewn to said third storage
panel;a shoulder harness; anda reinforcing piping;wherein said all panels
are stitchedly connected to their adjacent panels to form a flexible
linear array of panels such that said first storage panel connects to
said first side panel which connects to said second storage panel which
connects to said second side panel which connects to said third storage
panel, and wherein said shoulder harness is affixed to a first side of
said third storage panel, and said compression means is stitchedly
attached to said third storage panel and encircles said backpack when
said backpack is folded such that said first panel, said second panel and
said third panel reside in a stacked configuration, and wherein all
exposed edges of said backpack have said protective piping sewn thereon,
and wherein said second side panel has a dimension of width that is
larger than a dimension of width of said first side panel.

2. The frameless, non rigid, shoulder supported divers's trifold
compression backpack of claim 1 wherein said first storage panel is
rectangular and has an unadorned first side and a second side with a
semicircular flap sewn to a top edge, a triangular flap sewn to a portion
of a side edge and a bottom edge, and an adjustable first buckled
retention strap traversing across said panel that is sewed to said top
edge and said bottom edge.

3. The frameless, non rigid, shoulder supported divers's trifold
compression backpack of claim 1 wherein said second storage panel is
rectangular and has a curved flap sewn to a top edge, a bottom edge, and
both side edges, and an adjustable second buckled retention strap
traversing atop said flaps and across said panel from said top edge to
said bottom edge, and at least two small compression straps traversing
atop said flaps and across said panel from side to side.

4. The frameless, non rigid, shoulder supported divers's trifold
compression backpack of claim 2 wherein said second storage panel is
rectangular and has a first face with a curved flap sewn to a top edge, a
bottom edge, and both side edges, and an adjustable second buckled
retention strap traversing atop said flaps and across said panel from
said top edge to said bottom edge, and at least two small compression
straps traversing atop said flaps and across said panel from side to
side.

5. The frameless, non rigid, shoulder supported divers's trifold
compression backpack of claim 1 wherein said third storage panel has a
zippered open mesh panel affixed to a second side of said third storage
panel so as to form a storage compartment therebetween.

6. The frameless, non rigid, shoulder supported divers's trifold
compression backpack of claim 2 wherein said third storage panel has a
zippered open mesh panel affixed to a second side of said third storage
panel so as to form a storage compartment therebetween.

7. The frameless, non rigid, shoulder supported divers's trifold
compression backpack of claim 3 wherein said third storage panel has a
side zippered open mesh panel affixed to a second side of said third
storage panel so as to form a viewable storage compartment therebetween.

8. The frameless, non rigid, shoulder supported divers's trifold
compression backpack of claim 7 further comprising a detachable bag of a
center zippered open mesh panel affixed to a fabric panel with protective
piping sewn on all exposed edges of said backpack that forms a viewable
storage compartment therebetween, wherein said bag has a series of side
release half buckles affixed thereon matingly conformed to a series of
complementary side release half buckles affixed to said backpack.

10. The frameless, non rigid, shoulder supported divers's trifold
compression backpack of claim 8 wherein the number of single strap
compression means sewn to said third storage panel is three.

11. The The frameless, non rigid, shoulder supported divers's trifold
compression backpack of claim 9 wherein said second storage panel has a
second face with a series of first loops sewn thereon and a first
adjustable elastic cordage laced thereon, and said detachable bag has a
series of second loops sewn thereon and a second adjustable elastic
cordage laced thereon.

Description:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001]The present invention relates to a extremely compact travel bag
adapted to both organize and protect expensive diving gear in a trifold
style backpack bag that is compressible, and designed to provide ease of
transportation through today's enhanced safety checkpoints at airport
terminals.

[0002]Many Americans enjoy diving, a sport that requires expensive
equipment that must be properly maintained so as to provide an enhanced
degree of safety when in use. Most ardent divers travel to and vacation
in remote locations to experience diving hot spots, bringing along their
own regulators, buoyancy compensation devices, dive computers, cameras,
mask, fins etc. Because of their physical size they are generally put
into checked baggage where the handling of this bulky, delicate equipment
is questionable. The present invention is a roll style (open trifold)
transport backpack that organizes a diver's equipment and compresses it
such that it qualifies as carry on luggage. The compression is
accomplished via a set of internal straps and three wide, unitary
external straps. The compression strapping is such that it does not
stress any of the bags stitching, fabric or seams. Quick release buckles
on these external straps allow the bag to be quickly opened for Customs
Agents or TSA Security personnel, and rolled out for visual inspection
without removing all of the gear form the bag. Once opened the bag has
see through netting and a webbed caddy that houses certain pieces of
diving equipment for dunking in a fresh water tank. Thus when the
compression straps are unbuckled and the transport bag unrolled, a full
visual inspection of the bag's contents can be made without any further
action. Since the diving regulators and computers may have liquid filled
gauges security Xrays generally detect this and TSA regulations require a
visual inspection. This new transport bag simplifies this process.

[0003]The exterior of the bag is conformed with backpack style carrying
straps and is designed to accommodate additional baggage modules and to
hold such articles as shoes, towels, drinking bottles etc.

[0004]Henceforth, a diver's compression trifold backpack with the
abovementioned features would fulfill a long felt need in the diving
industry. This new invention utilizes and combines known and new
technologies in a unique and novel configuration to overcome the
aforementioned problems and accomplish this.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005]The general purpose of the present invention, which will be
described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a device or
integrated system for the personal transport of diving equipment that is
able to protect, organize and quickly display the contents and provide a
method for compression such that the overall dimensions comply with the
acceptable sized for carry on luggage.

[0006]It has many of the advantages mentioned heretofore and many novel
features that result in a new transport bag which is not anticipated,
rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art,
either alone or in any combination thereof.

[0007]In accordance with the invention, an object of the present invention
is to provide a washable divers's compression roll backpack capable of
organizing diving equipment for protective, cushioned transportation.

[0008]It is another object of this invention to provide an improved
divers's compression roll bag capable of rapid opening and visual content
identification for security inspections.

[0009]It is a further object of this invention to provide a belt and
shoulder supported divers's compression roll bag sized so as to meet
aviation regulations for carry on luggage.

[0010]It is still a further object of this invention to provide for a
divers's compression roll bag that is capable of a strong compressive
closing that does not compromise the integrity of the bag or it's
stitching.

[0011]The subject matter of the present invention is particularly pointed
out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of this
specification. However, both the organization and method of operation,
together with further advantages and objects thereof, may best be
understood by reference to the following description taken in connection
with accompanying drawings wherein like reference characters refer to
like elements. Other objects, features and aspects of the present
invention are discussed in greater detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012]FIG. 1 is a rear side view of the open trifold bag showing the
general arrangement of all components and the optional spider bag;

[0013]FIG. 2 is a front side view of the open trifold bag showing the
general arrangement of all components and the optional spider bag;;

[0014]FIG. 3 is a front side view of the partially folded trifold bag;

[0026]There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important
features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof
that follows may be better understood and in order that the present
contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course,
additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter
and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

[0027]In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the
invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not
limited in its application to the details of construction and to the
arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or
illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other
embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also,
it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed
herein are for the purpose of descriptions and should not be regarded as
limiting. It is to be noted that in the way of terminology, a "trifold"
arrangement generally refers to a design of three generally planar
elements that require two folds to place the three elements into a
unitary stacked configuration atop one another such as is common in men's
wallets.

[0028]Looking at FIGS. 1 and 2 ita can be seen that he present invention
is a frameless, non rigid, washable, synthetic fabric divers's
compression backpack 2 that is not conformed around an enclosed cavity as
in conventional backpacks, but rather is a flat three panel trifold bag
with inner compression straps 4 and outer compression straps 6. One of
the remarkable features of this backpack 2 is that there is no central
cavity for the storage of property, rather it has three panels connected
in a linear array by two side strips of differing thicknesses so as to
enable the two stages of folding that typify a trifold arrangement.

[0029]The preferred material of construction for the backpack panels, and
the strapping, peripheral protective piping and the webbing is ballistic
or reinforced nylon stitched with a synthetic thread although there is a
plethora of synthetic fibers that would also work as would be known by
one skilled in the art. The buckles used on the compression straps and
attachment straps are of the polymer adjustable, side release style. On
the compression straps the "D" rings sewn on the ends of the associated
straps are made of plated rust resistant metal or plastic.

[0030]It is to be noted that for purposes of clarity the panels are
referred to as they would be found in the fully packed and compressed
backpack configuration. Thus the terms inner panel, outer panel and back
panel refer to the series of sequentially numbered adjacent panels first,
second and third numbered from left to right looking at the backpack in
the unfolded state from the bottom as displayed in FIG. 1.

[0031]The rectangular inner panel 8 has an unadorned or configured back
face (FIG. 1) bounded on all peripheral edges by a protective piping 10
stitched onto the panel to reduce wear and prevent fraying of the panel
fabric. This piping 10 adorns all exposed edges of the backpack. The
front face of the inner panel 8 has a semicircular flap 12 stitchedly
affixed to the top of the panel 8 (FIG. 2) and a triangular flap 14
stitchedly affixed to the bottom edge and exposed side of the panel. The
exposed edges of both flaps have protective piping 10 sewn on as well. An
adjustable securement strap 16 centrally traverses the height of the
inner panel 8, being stitchedly connected to the panel's top and bottom
edges. The strap 16 is a two piece construction of polymer webbing with
one half of an adjustable, polymer side release buckle 18 stitchedly
connected to the free end of a first strap section and the matingly
conformed second half of the buckle slideably retained on the second
strap section by the interweaving of the second strap section through a
set of slots formed in the buckle second half. The free end of the second
strap section has a D ring 58 sewn thereon to facilitate hand adjustment.
A short strap with a U clip is sewn onto the top of the first strap
section for the connection of accessories. It is to be noted that all of
the buckles and strapping arrangements used herein are of the same basic
design regardless of their function.

[0032]The inner panel 8 was designed to house a specific element, a fin
caddy, FIGS. 10-12 which is described briefly herein, and is the subject
of a copending patent application. The fin caddy 20 has an elastic
suspension ring 22 from which two regulator retention straps 24, a diving
fin retention split strap 26 and a mesh bag 28 are affixed. A removable
carrying handle is attached to a D ring 32 sewedly attached to a stub
strap 34 affixed to the suspension ring 22. When the fins 36, regulator
and hoses 38, diving computer and goggles are constrained by the fin
caddy 20, the entire unit may be placed onto the front of the first panel
8 underneath the semicircular flap 12 and the triangular flap 14 such
that the diving fin tips 40 partially reside in the pocket created by the
triangular flap 14 and the diving fin heel cups reside under the
semicircular flap 12. This along with the securement strap 16 prevents
the shifting of the fin caddy's contents. The regulator and hoses 38 are
always visually exposed when the fin caddy 20 is located in/on the first
panel 8. In this manner when the first panel 8 is folded onto the central
panel 42 the sensitive, expensive regulator/s are sandwiched between the
flexible fins 36 and a buoyancy compensation device (BCD) which is
compressedly located in the central panel 42 as discussed herein. The
arrangement of the fin caddy in inner panel 8 is shown in FIG. 7. When
the backpack 2 is unfolded all of the stored items are visible. This is
especially important for the regulator gauges which often have fluid
therein and are confusing to identify through XRAY machines.

[0033]The outer panel 42 has front face (FIG. 1) with a series of loops 44
stitched about the periphery on the piping 10 through which an elastic
cordage 46 may be laced, and three fixed buckle first halves 48 affixed
on the edge of the side nearest the inner panel 8. These buckle first
halves 48 engage with three buckle second halves 50 located on a
detachable spyder bag 52 that may be optionally attached to the front
face of the outer panel 42 for additional storage. The elastic cordage 46
stores The outer panel's front face also has a pair of buckle second
halves 50 attached to adjustable straps with D rings for the attachment
of yet another small mess bag 54. (FIG. 14) Although not illustrated,
there is a small closeable fabric bag sewn to the bottom edge of the
outer panel 42 to house the elastic cordage 46. The cordage 46 when
laced, allows the storage of wet items such as towels, sandals etc. for
ventilation and drying purposes. Also this manner of storage allow for
rapid visual inspection. The inner side of the outer panel 42 has one
semicircular flap 12 stitchedly affixed to the top edge, one semicurcular
flap 12 stitchedly affixed to the bottom edge, and two semioval flaps 56
stitchedly affixed to the side edges. (FIG. 2) An adjustable securement
strap 16 centrally traverses the height of the outer panel 8, being
stitchedly connected to the panel's top and bottom edges. Three inner
compression straps 4 extend between the sides and across each of the
semioval flaps 56 so as to reside normal to the securement strap 16.
These inner compression straps 4 do not encircle the outer panel 42 but
rather have two separate strap halves with their fixed ends stitched to
the sides of the panel. The inner side of the outer panel is conformed to
house a buoyancy compensation device (BCD). The BCD is basically an air
inflatable vest and is bulky as it is formed to fit around a human body.
When the BCD is placed under the flaps and securement strap 16, the inner
compression straps 4 may be bucked and the D rings 58 may be snugged to
flatten and partially compress the BCD to a planar shape.

[0034]The inner panel 8 is stitchedly connected to outer panel 42 by a
strip of fabric that forms a narrow side panel 60. (FIGS. 1, 2 and 3) The
width of the narrow side panel 60 corresponds to the combined thickness
of the inner panel 8 and the outer panel 42 when they are in a stacked
configuration so as to reside atop each other as depicted in FIG. 3.

[0035]The back panel 62 has a back side with two padded shoulder straps 66
sewn thereon. (FIG. 1) The freedom of movement of shoulder straps 66 to
accommodate different sized individuals is adjusted by adjustment straps
68 that are sewn along the length of the shoulder straps and connect the
shoulder straps 66 to the bottom of the back panel 62. The adjustment
straps 68 as well as the shoulder straps are stitchedly affixed to the
top edge of the back panel 62. Tightening the adjustment straps 68 will
draw the shoulder straps 66 closer to the back panel 62. An adjustable
small securement strap 70 connects the two shoulder straps 66. The front
side of the back panel 62 has a see through, open mesh panel 72 with a
zippered access stitchedly affixed about the back panel 62. This is
designed with the enhanced breathability and drainability so as to hold a
wet suit. The zipper 74 resides where the back panel 62 meets the wide
side panel 64. In this manner when the backpack 2 is in its fully folded
position, regardless if the zipper is enmeshed or not, the contents
cannot come out of the compartment formed on the back panel 62.

[0036]The back panel 62 has three adjustable, unitary outer compression
straps 6 sewn onto the back side. (FIG. 1) The operation and buckle
design of the outer compression straps 6 are identical with the inner
compression straps 4 except that these outer compression straps 6 do not
have two separate strap halves with their fixed ends stitched to the
sides of the panel as the inner compression straps 4 do. Instead the
outer compression straps 6 are of a unitary or loop configuration wherein
each of the buckle halves are affixed to an end of the unitary strap.
These outer compression straps 6 are at least twice the width of the one
inch thick inner compression straps 4.

[0037]When all the dive paraphernalia is loaded in the three panels, and
the panels folded so as to stack atop each other, (FIGS. 4 and 8) the
outer compression straps 6 may be wrapped around the entire array, their
buckle halves connected and their D rings forcefully pulled so as to
compress all the contents of the backpack 2 to their smallest
configuration. (FIGS. 5 and 6) In most situations this will allow the
backpack 2 to be reduced to the dimensions acceptable for an airplane
carry-on. The unitary feature of the outer compression straps 6 allows a
uniform compression of the backpack's contents which could not be
accomplished with sectional straps. It also allows the compression of the
backpack 2 to occur without any stress to the fabric, seams, stitching,
piping etc. of the backpack 2 as can be seen in FIG. 14.

[0038]The inner panel 8 is stitchedly connected to back panel 62 by a
strip of fabric that forms a wide side panel 64. FIGS. 1 and 2) The width
of the wide side panel 64 corresponds to the combined thickness of the
back panel 64 and the outer panel 42 and the inner panel 8 when they are
in a stacked configuration so as to reside atop each other as depicted in
FIG. 4.

[0039]To get to the trifolded state, the sequence of sequentially folding
the inner panel 8 onto the outer panel 42 and then this combination onto
back panel 62 and then connecting the outer compression straps 6 as
depicted in FIGS. 2-3-4-5 must be followed. When fully assembled the
backpack 2 as viewed from the back is shown in FIG. 6.

[0040]A large accessory or spyder bag 80 that attaches to the backpack 2
by a series of buckle second halves 50 about its periphery that connect
to the mating buckle first halves 48 (FIG. 1) stitched to the edges of
the sides of the back panel 62. This spyder bag 80 has an enclosed pocket
formed between a sheet of fabric material and a centrally zippered mesh.
This is a removable option (FIG. 4) that is able to be attached to the
front face of the outer panel 42 such that either the fabric (FIG. 9) or
the mesh (FIG. 7) may face outward. When the mesh faces outward the
contents of the spyder bag 80 are visible for inspection.

[0041]In use, the trifold bag is loaded, folded and compressed as
described herein (FIG. 13) but upon request of a TSA or other security
official, can be opened by unbuckling the outer compression straps 6 and
unfolded to lay flat for visual inspection. Once opened, the inner panel
8 and fin caddy 20 contents are visible, (FIG. 7) the BCD in the outer
panel 42 is visible and the back panel contents are visible through the
mesh panel 72. Further, all stored equipment is neatly organized, can
breath and drain water, and can be easily accessed and removed for
further inspection. The spyder bag's contents are viewable through its
mesh however the spyder bag 80 can be can be quickly removed from the
front of the backpack 2 by its buckles.

[0042]As is well known in the industry a hip belt to aid in supporting the
weight of the bag may be added. This belt would be attachable to the
backpack 2 by a series of buckles sewn on the belt and the various
panels. Additionally there is room for articles to be stored between the
spyder bag 80 and the outer panel 42.

[0043]The above description will enable any person skilled in the art to
make and use this invention. It also sets forth the best modes for
carrying out this invention. There are numerous variations and
modifications thereof that will also remain readily apparent to others
skilled in the art, now that the general principles of the present
invention have been disclosed. As such, those skilled in the art will
appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may
readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures,
methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present
invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as
including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart
from the spirit and scope of the present invention.